Banks and other financial institutions have historically offered a number of services and features which provide for savings plans which vary from a typical banking account. For example, parents have long since opened savings accounts in the name of their children in order to provide an opportunity to teach their children the value of money and particularly, the value of saving money. In this manner, the parent could accompany the child into the bank such that, under the authority of the parent, the child could withdraw funds from, or deposit money into, his or her savings account.
However, changes in the banking industry have reduced such practices. In particular, as automated banking becomes more prevalent, customers are visiting their bank's physical locations (e.g. branches) less frequently. For example, due to the widespread implementation of automated teller machines (ATMs), banking customers are able to do most, if not all, of their banking at the ATM without the need to actually visit a bank branch office. Moreover, since many retailers such as grocery stores and department stores accept bank cards for payment and even offer “cash back”, the need for a visit to a branch office is yet further reduced. Hence, heretofore practices of providing for children's savings accounts have become substantially less utilized.
What is needed therefore is a method and apparatus for maintaining a children's bank account which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks. What is particularly needed is a method and apparatus for maintaining a children's bank account which can be utilized via a banking terminal such as an ATM or point-of-sale retail terminal.